Passiflora incense

Last weekend, we went to visit a friend’s property where they had recently planted wild flowers. The passion flower vine, located on the property (not a part of their recent wildflower plantings), was in bloom and beautiful. I remember studying this flower in Botany class. Yep, we tore it up. All the pieces were fairly easy to find: the stamen, the pistil, etc.

I decided to look up Passion Flower because I was curious how it really got the name. What was it that looked like passion? The purple? The hairy-like tentacles? Was it suppose to resemble a heart at some point during its growth cycle? Was it a smell? Did it play a role in history to attract people like Romeo and Juliet? Well, I found more information than I ever thought I would (and I don't think these answers would have worked on my Botany exam):

The Passion Flower:

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries discovered this flower and adopted its unique physical structures as symbols of Crucifixion. In this case, "Passion" does not refer to love, but to the Passion of Christ on the cross. For example: the radial filaments which can number more than a hundred and vary from flower to flower represent the Crown of Thorns. The ten petals and sepals represent the ten faithful apostles who followed Jesus Christ. The top 3 stigmata represent the 3 nails and the lower 5 anthers represent the 5 wounds. The flower has been given names related to this symbolism throughout Europe since that time.
In Spain, it is known as Christ's Thorn.
In Germany it was once known as Mother-of-God's Star.
In Israel they are referred to as clock-flower.
In Japan, they are known as clock plant.